ALE’s Travel Specialist, Miri, ditched her desk for a pair of snow boots and embarked on the ultimate trip-of-a-lifetime to take an overnight trip at the South Pole. After two years of expertly guiding guests through every detail of this Antarctic overnight adventure, she swapped stories for real-life ice sheets and midnight sun. In her field-tested report, Miri serves up everything you need to know, whether you’re packing your parka or just curious about life at 90°S: Get ready to experience the South Pole through the eyes of someone who’s been there, lived it, and can’t wait to share every frosty detail.
Thankfully in this modern age you don’t have to risk life or limb and leave home for years in order to take an overnight trip to the South Pole: you simply pack your bag according to a specific equipment list, board a plane, and bring your spirit of adventure for a couple of weeks. No longer the ‘worst journey in the world’, all one has to do now is sacrifice the tiniest of modern comforts to find themselves in the most remote place on the planet. I mean cold toilets, cots, shared tents, infrequent showers, and a lack of internet connection. Yet despite this, I remained quite cozy and comfortable with the sleeping conditions and the digital detox gave me more presence and time to journal and talk to fellow travelers.
Trips to the South Pole are equal parts mystery and strict procedure. Going to extreme places naturally implies that procedures will be in place to keep everyone not just comfortable but safe and healthy. Normally you don’t need to be briefed while on vacation, but a vacation to the South Pole is no mere vacation…it is a journey, an expedition, even a pilgrimage for some. On this journey, you’ll need to be briefed about all the essentials – how to stay warm, how to avoid cold injury, how to respect the science and restricted zones, and how to stay healthy and comfortable in this strange land.
You’ll depart from ALE’s flagship camp at Union Glacier in the Ellsworth Mountains and head due south on a small ski plane with a backpack of overnight essentials.
Given the temperature difference between Union Glacier and the South Pole, you’ll don your polar gear mid-air on the small plane as the captain turns off the heat, signaling that you are getting close to your destination. Polar travel by nature is inherently encumbered by clothing and gear. You’ll always have your pockets full and your hands full…sunglasses, goggles, sunscreen, neck gaiter, Chapstick, gloves, glove liners, Advil, camera, phone, power bank, cord, even your passport (yes, you’ll need to take your passport with you when you go to the South Pole!). The constant shuffling and relayering/de-layering game is integral to staying comfortable, but you’ll likely still find yourself oscillating between various states of ‘too hot’ or ‘too cold’. Goggles were my eyewear weapon of choice at the South Pole which is much colder and windier than Union Glacier and kept my eyes protected. On the flight, you won’t have access to your backpack so utilizing your pockets for anything you may need for the 4-5 hour flight will be helpful to stow on your person.
Once you’re stuffed like a marshmallow and seated, you’ll wait for the plane to descend onto the bottom of the world. Unlike your descent into Antarctica on the Boeing 757 where you can admire the slivers of mountaintops peeking out through the ice and snow, you won’t see much as the ski plane windows freeze quickly. If you have hands of steel, you can use your body heat to melt the ice off the window and try to get a glance of the vast and flat polar plateau. But, keep in mind that you’re not going there for the views, you’re going for the vibes…to be completely embedded in the hype of the 90th degree south.
As the door opens, you’re met with the thin, frozen air…the pole has an altitude of 9,300 ft (about 2.83 km)! Stepping off the plane, it’s disorientingly white and flat in every direction as far as the eye can see and you’re soon flooded with positive vibes from the welcoming committee – “Welcome to the South Pole!”
In the daze of your moon landing, you’ll eventually find yourself in the main ALE dining tent where a delicious, and warm meal awaits. As everyone transforms into their normal selves (not their astronaut selves), you’ll recognize new faces, those of the ALE South Pole team, as well as expeditioners! Our arrival coincided with the arrival of men and women skiing their way to the pole over weeks and months to finally arrive at the pole in the spirit of early polar explorers. What we just flew over and we couldn’t see much of…they just trekked across that on skis pulling sleds.
You’ll soon come to realize that when you are in Antarctica, with the constant daylight and weather windows that allow flights, your sense of normal hours will fade away. As we toured the station and eventually got to the ceremonial and geographic pole markers, it was almost midnight but as bright as mid-day for pictures. You’ll be able to get photos at both pole markers which are a few minutes slow-motion walk to each marker – the Ceremonial South Pole in front of the South Pole Station and the Geographic South Pole (that gets re-measured each year as the ice sheet gradually shifts).
Steeped in history and lore, my trip to the South Pole did not disappoint and included plenty to write home about. You’ll be surrounded by science and no doubt the coolest people you’ll ever have the chance to meet.
You’ll become a celebrity in your circles back home for weeks after your trip, as everyone will want to hear tales of your adventure and what life is like in Antarctica and at the South Pole.
The spirit of adventure is alive and well at the South Pole. It’s a palpable feeling in the air as you gaze into the mirrored ball atop the ceremonial pole marker surrounded by the flags of the original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. You’ll feel it standing at exactly 90 degrees south. You’ll feel it as you look out into the vast whiteness standing in a place few have been. You’ll feel it sitting around the dining table with folks from across the world with backgrounds and accents as varied as you can imagine! It truly is the definition of the trip of a lifetime.
South Pole Bucket List:
Walk around the world at the Geographic Pole marker
Talk to an expeditioner
Sign the South Pole Visitor Center guest book
South Pole Tips & Tricks:
Bring noise cancelling headphones for the flight
Get in any naps when you can
STAY HYDRATED
Talk to people!
Walk and move slowly (to avoid altitude sickness)
BYOD – Bring Your Own Darkness (aka eye mask, head cover, etc.)
Thank the staff: they work day and night
Recommendations prior to a South Pole Trip:
Read more expedition history, including The Worst Journey in the World by polar explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Giving yourself some context can give you a profound sense of place, as well as a deeper appreciation for the logistics of South Pole Travel and innovations in polar gear from then to now.
Bring postcards WITH you from Union Glacier so that you can write them at the Pole to mail them from Union Glacier. On this same thought, bring postal stamps with you from Punta Arenas as you cannot buy those in Antarctica.